The only psycopath is the author of the article in my opinion. What's wrong with just getting out there and having some fun riding the bike? Some of us like to do that, without being profiled by the likes of newspaper opinion writers.

gorilla monsoon wrote:Some of the Perth-Freo members should invite young Corey out on a ride and explain to him how it all works.

Or even send him over to Sydney and stick him out on the M7, end to end and back. Cycling heaven with not a car or any other obstruction in sight. You can just get on with riding. I can't see what's so difficult about it. Provided there isn't blasting cross-winds, just about any time I can get out on the bike is fun!

I'm sorry I see very little hate but alot of truth in what he wrote. I am constantly overtaken by Tour'de commuters on blind dangerous points because I have mudgards and slow down on bends, then catch up on the straights.The fact is bad behaviour is putting of people off riding a bike and there is no point calling something cycling hate when it points out faults that are true just because we don't like it.

Donald

BCC give us some more bikeways fore safe travel!!!!Upgrade the NCL now QR!!!!!!http://nakedcyclistbrissy.blogspot.com/My views do not represent any organisation I may be apart of unless otherwise stated

I didn't see it as hate at all. He's a bit obsessive about the lycra and shoes and all but I guess you've got to make up your column inches somehow There're plenty of us out riding solo who are heartily sick of being run off the path by wannabe peletons. I have some sympathy with his view of the unfriendlier side of recreational cycling.

I love this from the comments - "If you have two blokes in front of you blocking your way, yes ring your bell, they will naturally coordinate there movements over to the left. Don't try this with mixed sex groups because for some reason they part offering you a hazardous path through the middle or try a second guess your route and walk in front of you after you have slammed on"

RobertFrith wrote:I love this from the comments - "If you have two blokes in front of you blocking your way, yes ring your bell, they will naturally coordinate there movements over to the left. Don't try this with mixed sex groups because for some reason they part offering you a hazardous path through the middle or try a second guess your route and walk in front of you after you have slammed on"

The only way is to have a MTB and then you can ride off on the rough grass off-path. Note, I'm not commenting on that one way or the other.

We also have TdF wannabes in Sydney too. In fact, they are anyone who is faster than I am, I suppose. Yet they don't make me feel unsafe, because they all seem to ride in a really predictable manner. You get warning they are coming - they don't meander about all over the place.

However, with the crazy SUV drivers in my area, I don't feel safer on the road. What with 6.4L Hemi V8 battering rams and German twin-turbo V8 SUVs from hell piloted by aggressive drivers?

Ross wrote:It's not just WA where this happens. Plenty of TdF wannabees commuting on the bike paths in Canberra too. I feel safer riding on the road.

The shared oaths in Canberra are a disaster. Pedestrians who take there priority as a reason to not share and take up the whole path no matter how much noise they make, dog walkers who refuse to keep there pets on a appropriate length leash and POBSO who see that there commuting on a bike being so good for the environment that this gives them the right to ignore the law.

The TDF 'wannabes' are generally on the road where it's safer and faster.

See this is where Brisbane might have some in common with perth. We have shared paths that are effectively the best way wether in lycra or normal clothes. As such they get hit with tour'de commuters so I fully understand what this block is talking about.

Donald

BCC give us some more bikeways fore safe travel!!!!Upgrade the NCL now QR!!!!!!http://nakedcyclistbrissy.blogspot.com/My views do not represent any organisation I may be apart of unless otherwise stated

Definitely not cycling hate. More of a tongue-in-cheek insight from someone just getting into the game.Running other riders isnt limited to 'tour de commuters' either. I've had plenty of freds do their best to put me in the bush on the northern psp.

The only psycopath is the author of the article in my opinion. What's wrong with just getting out there and having some fun riding the bike? Some of us like to do that, without being profiled by the likes of newspaper opinion writers.

I don't know what article you read but it couldn't have been the one in your link.

seems pretty harmless tongue in cheek stuff, from a nice young bloke trying to make a quid at writing. Lets see how he goes in a few months when he settles in.But really I can see the funny side of learning the ropes on a new cycle. I wouldn't take it to heart by any means.

Well, I can't say I've seen any of this sort of behavior when commuting into Newcastle either from the North on the roads or from the South on the Fernleigh Track cycleway. Couple of speedsters, that's all. Maybe it's a big city thing? Or maybe cos I'm a big ugly SOB in well worn non-logo cycling gear they all avoid me?

I will say the worst behavior does come seem to out when the 'racing' crowd clump together on 'organized' rides like the Newcastle to Dungog Rotary run recently. They seemed to think that road rules only applied to someone else and other cyclists were just obstructions to be brushed past and ignored in their efforts to impress each other. A couple of 'new chum' lady riders were almost in tears after we got swamped by a pack of 'racing' cyclists at the Sandgate crossroads, whizzing past on both sides, missing by a cm or so. Not the way to encourage new riders I would have thought.

Still, as I say, no problems when commuting and I encounter a 5/6 bike pack so maybe it's the weekend warriors?

And, from what I hear of cycling in Melb, Syd, Bris, or Perth fairly accurate.

Pleased I am not in one of those cities

Actually when I started commuting on a bike I did pretty much exactly what he did. t-shirt, shorts, flat pedals.

T-shirts went first, a few hot summer days convinced me of the benefits of mountain bike style shirts, loose and breathable, next went the flats when I went for mountain bike style spd cleats so I could walk around in the shoes as well. Shorts stayed as they were as it was a commute bike, no need for knicks. I didn't go for that until I got a genuine road bike for triathlon.

So I wouldn't be surprised if he changes his tune about some things in a year or so, but the crazy attitude some guys ride with deserves ridicule and I think he is spot on the money.

I actually thought the article was reasonably funny.The Zoolander blue steel part particularly got a chuckle, as I see that expression all the time from cyclists coming the other way... And who knows, I am probably guilty of it too.I rarely encounter any of the bad behaviour in the article, thankfully, as I couldn't understand that at all. As it is completely unnecessary. It's enough of a battle riding amongst cars, without fellow cyclists adding to the problems.

I agree with Scarfy96 though. I too started out in t-shirts & shorts, then my commute got a lot longer, so with that came the knicks, cleats & better, cycling specific, shirts. And soon, when the bug really bites, the author will be looking to do the same.

I suspect a lot of guys place a premium on conservation of momentum over riding safely when in mixed traffic.

I'm happy to brake to walking pace if I can't overtake pedestrians on a bike path... it's a chance to accelerate again, and riding a bike is supposed to be energetic, after all. But I have consciously decided to ride that way, and I suspect not everyone does.

Sounds like a beatup to me. Probably the first time he has been on a bike for awhile and the sole intention was to write this bs story. Yeah sure there are the occasional idiot riders on bike paths as there are idiot pedestrians, dog walkers etc.... but they are a tiny minority. Young Cory needs to get out of the fantasy office into the real world a bit more.

alan_k wrote:I don't think it's about cycling hate. He made some good points and I guess some of us faced the same situation when we first started out.

Gee, what about those poor people who had to start out without the benefit of their high visibility newspaper column and website? Oh, how did we manage? I certainly didn't start off by throwing around tongue-in-cheek insults at people wearing lycra. I didn't really encounter any bad behaviour from other cyclists that I can think of, though maybe I ride in an area with considerate, normal cyclists.

JohnJoyner wrote:I see that expression all the time from cyclists coming the other way... And who knows, I am probably guilty of it too.

Whatever you do, don't wave to people or say hello, because POBSOs think that you are creepy if you do that.

Last edited by g-boaf on Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

g-boaf wrote:We also have TdF wannabes in Sydney too. In fact, they are anyone who is faster than I am, I suppose. Yet they don't make me feel unsafe, because they all seem to ride in a really predictable manner. You get warning they are coming [cut]

I beg to differ. I am regularly frightened out of my wits by speedsters screaming past; sometimes in the face of oncoming peds or bike traffic.

JohnJoyner wrote:I actually thought the article was reasonably funny.The Zoolander blue steel part particularly got a chuckle, as I see that expression all the time from cyclists coming the other way... And who knows, I am probably guilty of it too.

Me too Although, on hills, I will be less Zoolander and more like my Avatar...

I thought it was a funny article. And apart from the bit about cleats, wearing a normal t-shirt, pretty much on the mark. Although I'm confused around what he wants with paths and fast riders - don't ride fast on the path, and don't ride on the road either? So everybody should just ride slow?

If this is cyclist hate then geez I must hate cyclists a lot. Sure, it's a cliche/generalisation but such things tend to exist for a reason i.e. there is a certain level of accuracy to it when applied to the group (but not necessarily the individual).

Personally I think this article should provoke more thought/self reflection amongst cyclists than non participants. We regularly sprout (again im referring to the collective rather than the individual) about the benfits of getting out on the bike, more people should do it = more infrastructure (or vice versa depending on which you see as the chicken and which as the egg) etc etc. So this guy does exactly that, gets out on the bike. He does what we do, but looking at it from the opposing perspective (im sure he doesnt call himself a cyclist... yet). His experience is one that may well be the case for others who take up cycling in one or more of its various forms (in no way does this just apply to commuting IMO). He is trying something new, and is obviously forming an opinion based on his experiences. What is he finding? The hardest part about cycling for him isn't vehicles (although its up there), it isnt helmet laws, it isnt having somewhere to change at his destination, it isnt infrastructure, it isnt pedestrians. It's dealing with other cyclists. Whether he is right or wrong isn't relevant, the mere fact he is forming that opinion has the potential to impact his decision to continue riding. If this example potentially applies to others in a similar situation, then we have a challenge on our hands and we are our own potential worst enemy. You may see it differently to what he does, and that's fine, but the perceptions of those who dont consider themselves cyclists will go a long way to determining whether or not they pick up a bike and/or continue to ride.

Moral of the story for me? How does our own behaviour contribute to the goals we try to achieve? One negative experience outweighs many positive experiences so it only takes a minority to give the group a bad name (just ask motorcyclists.... and no, i'm not a motorcyclist and never will be based on early experiences that are hard to shake)

In case I didnt highlight it enough im applying the entirety of my comments about cyclists in a general sense, i.e. thats not to say it applies to each and every individual. Unfortunately, based on previous experiences I feel the need to point this out several times otherwise people tend to take it personally and get upset, which is not the point of the exercise.

/rant. Apologies if the coherence levels are a little down today, didnt have the time to write this as well as I wanted given that forum posting doesnt pay my bills, working pays my bills and thats precisely what I should be doing..

master6 wrote: Moderators are like Club Handicappers; I often think they are wrong, but I dont want the job.

I see more sarcasm than hate. Sadly the ignorance is blissfully high in this journalist and rather than working a way to get around the problem, he has an avenue to bitch about it publicly. Nice for some.